John R.
Eiler, who led alma mater East Stroudsburg as a coach to
the NAIA national
championship in 1962 and the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in
1964 and 1965, died last week at the age of 93 in East
Stroudsburg, Pa.

He built the Warriors into one of the first national powers in college
soccer. Among the players he coached was Al Miller, who later
coached Hartwick, the Philadelphia Atoms and the U.S. national team.

“We all respected him,” said Miller told the Pocono
Record. “He didn’t have a lot
of rules, but those
that he had were firm. He always meant what he
said.”

Added Miller, "He had an enormous influence on my wanting to be a
coach.
I came into school as a baseball guy, but after meeting Coach Eiler I
became a soccer guy."

Eiler's overall coaching record was 150-41-6 over 20 seasons,
including 77-25-7 at East Stroudsburg.

Eiler
served as the president of the NSCAA and ISAA and won the NSCAA's Honor
Award in 1965. He was inducted into the
National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1993. East Stroudsburg's Eiler-Martin
Stadium is named in honor of Eiler and the
late Eugene Martin,
head
football coach and Dean of Men at the
school.